Syracuse, NY (April 25, 2016) – The NYS Department of Health has officially approved St. Joseph's Certificate of Need to add 20 critical care beds to the hospital.

“This takes us from 38 to 58 intensive care beds, and all are in private rooms,” said Kathryn Ruscitto, President & CEO at St. Joseph’s Health. The space for the additional 20 beds was made available by moving existing beds to St. Joseph’s new Christina M. Nappi Surgical Tower.

“We are constantly working to identify new ways and best practices to keep up with the growing demand, while preserving our commitment to a higher level of care,” Ruscitto added. “With the trends toward more consolidation in healthcare, we’re seeing an increased number of patients being transferred from smaller hospitals in the region, and we want to ensure we’re providing the safest environment to care for more members of the community.” St. Joseph’s also continues to see an increase in patients from outside of Onondaga County.

The NYS Department of Health granted St. Joseph’s approval to add 20 temporary beds back in March of 2015 to address the increasing number of patients. Now, this permanent approval brings St. Joseph’s from a 431-bed hospital to a 451-bed hospital.

St. Joseph’s Health is a non-profit regional health care system based in Syracuse, N.Y., providing services to patients throughout Central New York and northern Pennsylvania. From primary to specialty to home care, to our Magnet-recognized hospital, and in collaboration with our community partners, St. Joseph's Health is advancing the health of the communities we serve through an expanding range of healthcare services to ensure our patients achieve optimum long-term health. Ranked by Consumer Reports among the top 15 heart surgery centers in the country, U.S. News “Best Regional Hospital” and a 15-time winner of the National Research Corporation Consumer Choice award, St. Joseph’s is widely recognized for quality, value and delivering the highest patient satisfaction. St. Joseph’s Health is affiliated with Franciscan Companies and St. Joseph’s Physicians and is a part of Trinity Health.